Pessary



y 1936. w. K. MCCORMICK ET AL ,0 4

PESSARY Filed July 17, 1935 Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES PESSARY William Klie McCormick, Walkerville, and Methven Adamson Stein, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Application July 17, 1935, Serial No. 31,852

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-131) This invention relates to pessaries, and its principal object is to provide a comfortable, unnoticeable, and unirritating support for medicants which can be, or which are applied to the head of the cervix, and held in place against the head of the cervix by means of the mushroom end of the pessary.

The object in having the mushroom end of the pessary, soft and pliable, is to serve a double purpose, one for comfort and one so that. the edge of the mushroom end can be lifted up, from time to time, with the proper instrument, the infected surface of the head of the cervix cleaned, and fresh medicants applied, then upon releasing the edge of the mushroom end which has been turned back, it will immediately .assume its regular contour, and the medicants which have been applied to the head of the cervix will be held firmly in place until it is necessary to remove them again.

Another object of, the pessary is to prevent foreign substance, of any source, from the vaginal cavity, from getting into the cervical canal, or onto the infected surface of the head of the cervix; and at the same time to allow for drainage from the fundus of the uterus out through the cervical canal and cervical orifice, if such drainage is required.-

Fig. l is a sectional view through the uterus and adjacent parts of a subject and showing our device applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail view through a uterus and showing our device in section.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the mushroom tube forming the base of our device.

Fig.4 is a perspective detail of the inflatable portion of our device separated from the base.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of our device ready for insertion through the cervical orifice.

Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 5 inflated as for retention in the orifice.

In the drawing like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The vaginal cavity of the patient is indicated by the numeral i, the neck of the uterus by 2, the

cervical orifice by 3, and the fundus of the' uterus by I.

Our device consists of a flexible tube I having a mushroom head 8 at its lower end through which the tube orifice 5 extends as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The head 6 is provided with an annular feather edge 8 so as to eliminate any sharp corner to produce discomfort. A tube 1 formed of thin readily expansible rubber or other suitable elastic material is provided with a closed upper end 7 into which the tube 5 is inserted as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, the interior surface of the wall of the tube resiliently gripping the exterior surface of the tube 5 so as to make a tight connection.

When our device is to be applied the physician inserts a probe or other suitable instrument through the orifice 5 to bear against the inner surface of the closed end I The upper end of the tube is then inserted into the cervical orifice and passed upward through the neck of the cervix until the upper end of the tube 1 protrudes into the fundus of the uterus and the head 6 bears against the head of the cervix as shown in Fig. 2.

A fluid such as water or other liquid, or air, or gas is forced by means of a syringe through the tube 5, the walls of which are thick to prevent expansion, into the upper end of the tube 1. The tube 1 is of thin readily expandible material so that the portion extending above the tube 5 expands into bulb form forming an enlargement preventing the tube being forced downward through the cervical orifice.

As the syringe is withdrawn, the tube 5 just .above the mushroom is pinched and held. by

suitable forceps so as to prevent leakage of the inflating fluid and the orifice 5 sealed bya patch 8 of rubber or other suitable material cemented to the face of the mushroom in the position indicated in Fig. 2.

Our device is left in this position for a period extending from three days after the menstrual period to the day before the next period.

In order to withdrawthe device the edge of the mushroom 6 is pulled down by a pair of forceps inserted through the vagina and an incision made in the tubes I and 5 to allow the bulb to deflate and permit the downward withdrawal of the device.

What we claim as our invention is:--

l. A pessary comprising a flexible tube adapted to extend into the cervical orifice and having a mushroom end adapted to fit against the head of the neck of the uterus and through which the tube orifice extends, a bulb at the upper end of the tube inflatable by fluid passed through the tube and adapted to fit the fundus of the uterus when so inflated, and means for sealing the lower end of the tube orifice.

2. A pessary comprising a flexible tube adapted to extend into the cervical orifice, means forming part of the tube for limiting its inward movement adapted to bear against the head of the neck of the uterus and through which the tube orifice extends, a bulb at the upper end of the tube inflatable by fluid passed through the tube and adapted to fit the fundus of the uterus when so inflated, and means for sealing the lower end of the tube orifice.

WILLIAM KLIE MCCORMICK.

m'nvan ADAMSON STEIN. 50 

